Selected by Sarah Broadhurst

One of our Books of the Year 2013.

First in a new series of dark and visceral crime novels featuring, rough around the edges, Detective Sergeant Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenberg. 38 women have disappeared without a trace. Are they connected and what involvement does the distinctly shady and dangerous ‘Nice Guys Club’ have to do with it.

Sarah Broadhurst says of the book ‘It is ace, really terrific, compulsive stuff, top marks and definitely a talent to watch.’ And don’t worry if you get a little addicted as there will be a new adventure being published every six months.

A "Piece of Passion" from the publisher...

'I will never forget the first time I read Stalkers. It was the type of writing that’s so fast-paced and so real that it felt as though the action was playing out in front of me on a screen. Doing some digging into who the author was, I discovered that he was a scriptwriter of some renown. Ah, so that would explain it.

We get countless crime novels across our desks, with very few ever making the cut. But Stalkers was something completely fresh. It was dark, gruesome and terrifying – right in line with the trend for visceral crime we were seeing amongst female readers. Plus, it had a hook that you couldn’t forget. The novel was about a gang who will watch, stalk, kidnap and kill any woman you want. A horrifying prospect.

It was twelve months before I was able to commission Stalkers – our list was full and there was no room to take it on. And yet, despite the many, many submissions I read that year, I just couldn’t forget this brilliant novel. So when a space appeared to take Stalkers on, I jumped at the chance.

Being a professional writer by trade, the author, Paul Finch, had endless ideas about how to progress the series. This was his strength – as well as being second to none when it came to writing pacey, non-stop action, his ability to craft unique storylines was something I have rarely seen.

I have now commissioned him for a series of three books, following our rough-around-the-edges hero, Detective Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenberg. These are high-concept crime novels, packed with action on every page. Paul draws on his own experiences as a policeman, bringing a deft, realistic touch to events which we hope to God would never take place in real life.

I hope you will be as enthralled by Heck and his killer cases as I was the first time I read them.'

Helen Bolton, Editor, Avon Books.

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Paul Finch on why he wrote Stalkers - 'A couple of years after I finished working on The Bill, I began laying out my thoughts for a new police novel. I’d been penning different things during the intervening years – novellas, audio dramas and so on – but I increasingly knew that I wanted to write an epic cop story.' Click here to read more.

Synopsis

Stalkers by Paul Finch

Time's up. You're Next. All he had to do was name the woman he wanted. It was that easy. They would do all the hard work. Detective Sergeant Mark 'Heck' Heckenberg is investigating the disappearance of 38 different women. Each one was happy and successful until they vanished without a trace. Desperate to find her missing sister, Lauren Wraxford seeks out Heck's help. Together they enter a seedy underworld of gangsters and organised crime. But when they hear rumours about the so-called 'Nice Guys Club' they hit a brick wall. They're the gang that no one will talk about. Because the Nice Guys can arrange anything you want. Provided you pay the price...

Reviews

'Really terrific, compulsive stuff...definitely a talent to watch.' The Bookseller: One to Watch

About the Author

Paul Finch is a former cop and journalist, now turned full-time writer. He cut his literary teeth penning episodes of the British crime drama, The Bill, and has written extensively in the field of film, audio drama and children's animation. He is also well known for his work in the thriller and horror fields. To date, he's had 15 books and nearly 300 stories published, and is a two-times winner of the British Fantasy Award and a one-time winner of the International Horror Guild Award. Paul has also written scripts for several movies. The most recent, The Devil's Rock, was released to the cinemas last July. Paul lives in Lancashire, with his wife Catherine and his children, Eleanor and Harry.